Democratic Women's Alliance October 12th, 2015 Update

ICYMI — Tuesday’s DNC-CNN-Facebook Democratic debate was the highest rated Democratic primary debate in history – with an average of 15.8 million viewers, according to Nielson data. Prior to this week, the highest rated Democratic debate was ABC’s April 2008 debate in Philadelphia which averaged 10.7 million viewers.

Tuesday’s debate was the 6th highest non-sports telecast in cable history. In addition, 980,000 concurrent viewers livestreamed the debate on CNN.com. By comparison, 1.3 million concurrent viewers streamed the Super Bowl earlier this year.

Leading up to the debate, the DNC and our state and local parties worked to make sure that #DemDebate excitement was funneled into growing our activist corps and engaging voters in Nevada, where the debate was held, and across the country.

The DNC and our state and local partners leveraged the #DemDebate opportunity in several ways:

At least 31 State Democratic Parties and 205 County Democratic Parties in 41 states hosted Debate Watch Parties across the country that were reported back to us.

Senator Harry Reid held a press conference to discuss our party’s values, and contrasted our Democratic field with the Republicans.

The DNC and Nevada Democrats hosted a roundtable moderated by DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz with Nevadans who have benefitted from Democratic Party policies. Participants included a nurse who spoke to how Obamacare had helped her; a Dreamer who spoke of President Obama’s plan to keep immigrant families together; and a retired firefighter who talked about what’s at stake this election for first responders.

The DNC digital team leveraged social media to keep people engaged, and frankly, they outperformed the GOP’s digital efforts by a mile.

Spread the Word

This week join the DNC and the Democratic Women's Alliance on social media by clicking below to tweet and post the following messages on Twitter and Facebook:

Women in the News

A new emphasis on race and gender in Democratic debate//Washington PostRacial justice and gender equality, issues important to a large and increasingly vocal bloc of the national electorate, finally made it to the presidential debate stage in Tuesday’s face-off between the candidates for Democratic nomination. “I believe in equal pay for equal work for women,” Hillary Rodham Clinton declared in her opening statement.

Republicans double down on Planned Parenthood probe//The HillHouse Republicans are pressing ahead with their probe into Planned Parenthood, despite the group’s decision to abandon the most controversial aspect of its fetal tissue program. Planned Parenthood on Tuesday said it would no longer accept compensation for procuring tissue for medical research, bending to the pressure of anti-abortion activists who for months accused the group of profiting from the practice.

A Pittsburgh Steeler wanted to wear pink all season for breast cancer. The NFL said no.//Washington PostEvery October in the NFL, pink happens. To raise awareness about breast cancer, there are pink pom-poms, pink cleats, and pink ribbons on game balls. This is what the NFL’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month looks like. But one player — Pittsburgh Steelers running back DeAngelo Williams — wanted to make every month breast cancer awareness month. For Williams, who lost his mother and four aunts to the disease, this was not just a league initiative. This was personal.

Mother of 2 Becomes Only Third Woman to Graduate From Army Ranger School//ABC NewsMaj. Lisa Jaster, a 37-year-old mother of two, has become the third woman to successfully complete the elite Army Ranger School and will be among the 88 soldiers to earn the Ranger tab at a graduation ceremony on Friday at Fort Stewart, Ga. Bob Purtiman, a spokesman for Fort Benning, where the training is held, confirmed the accomplishment to ABC News. In her civilian life, the reservist works as an engineer with Shell Oil in Houston. Her two children are aged 7 and 3.

State Laws Can Ensure a Woman’s Right to an Abortion//NewsweekHealth care providers and women seeking abortions are increasingly subjected to legal requirements that make abortion care more difficult to obtain. These requirements are contrary to medical evidence and best practices, in addition to interfering with the relationship between health care providers and their patients. However, an effort is emerging in several states that directly responds to these types of restrictions with bills that would protect the patient-provider relationship. State legislators, along with national and state-based advocacy groups, are drafting these bills in order to improve women’s access to evidence-based health care.

MOBILIZE | ENGAGE | TRAIN The Democratic Women's Alliance is the latest chapter in the Democratic Party’s long commitment to activating more women. DWA seeks to empower Democratic women to MOBILIZE, ENGAGE, and TRAIN each other and continue the conversation about women voters between elections.